7 Things That Were Worth My Time Last Month…And 3 Things That Weren’t

I know that yes, technically I have as many hours in the day as Beyoncé. But even if that is true, I still don’t always feel like I have enough hours to do all the things I want and need to do. It inevitably seems like certain items on my TDL go left unchecked, and if I’m being completely honest, other tasks that didn’t even make the original list (ahem, a Modern Family rerun and a “quick” Target stop) manage to get crossed off.

For the sake of time management and better utilizing those same 24 hours in the day that Queen Bey and I share, I’m taking a closer look at what’s been worth my time lately, and what hasn’t.

Yay:

Organizing my closet. I use the term ‘organizing’ loosely, because my closet is hardly HGTV ready. That being said, it has come a long way. My jeans are in one row, leggings in another, and tops are arranged by color and type. It makes getting ready in the morning so much easier when I’m not having to scour the entire space for that one black tank top.

Catching up with girlfriends. One by-product of moving from the Midwest to the South and then to the Northeast is that my best friends are scattered in different time zones across the country. It’s not always easy finding time to talk, and a lengthy game of phone tag often ensues, but it’s more than worth the effort. I love hanging up the phone and feeling like things haven’t skipped a beat, even with thousands of miles between us.

Meditation. I’ve been working on creating a solid meditation practice since Yoga Teacher Training 3 years ago. And finally, in the last 2 months, I’ve made it a priority. I still find myself searching for excuses for why I can’t sit still for 10 minutes a day, but despite my best self-sabotaging efforts, I’ve somehow managed to establish the habit. The best reason I can find for why it’s finally stuck this time around is that I truly do feel more settled and grounded in my body after each session.

Unsubscribing. I almost didn’t include this one because hitting unsubscribe hardly takes any time. And yet, I’ve received unwanted, incessant and spammy emails for years without allotting the minute to remove myself from mailing lists. If you find yourself procrastinating your to-do-list at any point today, do yourself a favor and spend a moment freeing your inbox of annoying ads.

Morning walks. My husband and I started taking regular morning walks together when we got our dog 5 years ago. It’s hands down one of my favorite times of the day. I leave my phone at home and for that 30 minutes or hour, we talk about anything that’s on our mind. It’s one of the few times I feel like I’m not multitasking, and it’s nice to catch up without so much background noise or distraction.

Writing. This is my passion. It’s my time to process things, express my thoughts, and connect with myself. I rarely feel more like me than when I’m writing. And even though there are a million other things I could do that are perhaps more useful or productive uses of my time, I know that feeling my fingers tap the keyboard is important and therapeutic to my soul.

Meal planning and prepping. After a couple years of wanting to meal prep but swearing I just didn’t have the time, I finally made it a priority a few months ago. Turns out, I did have the time, and it actually saves me way more time during the week when I don’t have to decide on and assemble breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I’ve even started to look forward to my quiet Sunday morning routine of putting on my favorite podcast and getting to work as the sun rises outside the kitchen window.

Nay:

Mindless scrolling. I have mixed feelings towards the tool of social media and how it adds to or detracts from my life. While I’m not totally pro or anti various apps, I can acknowledge how much of a time suck it easily becomes for me. And I can say with certainty, I’ve never looked back on 10 or 15 minutes of reading updates and thought to myself, that was a solid use of time.

Mediocre entertainment. I just finished reading a book that in two words could be described as “very okay”. It wasn’t as if it started out in a gripping way, either. It was, from start to finish, meh. I’d likely say the same for half the shows I’ve watched before drifting to sleep. I am habitually over-committed to middle of the road entertainment and it’s something I’m working to create more intentionality around.

Overthinking things. Dan Harris puts it rather perfectly, “When you have one foot in the future and the other in the past, you piss on the present.” I have a tendency to get caught up in the coulda/woulda/shouldas and if this/then this scenarios, which isn’t really fun or particularly purposeful. I suppose that reaffirms the importance of keeping up my meditation practice, excuses and all.